Green – Kohler Designfulhttps://kohler.design
Inspirational design news and ideasWed, 19 Dec 2018 00:22:45 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.1https://kohler.design/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/k-icn-150x150.pngGreen – Kohler Designfulhttps://kohler.design
3232World Toilet Day 2018: another wake-up call from naturehttps://kohler.design/world-toilet-day-2018/
https://kohler.design/world-toilet-day-2018/#respondMon, 19 Nov 2018 04:01:01 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=16483In 2015 193 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly pledged to ‘end poverty in all forms’ by 2030. Through transformative steps including the World Toilet Day 2018 that were defined in 17 Sustainable [Read more…]

One of these goals is the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) No. 6 focusing on safe sanitation, safe toilets, and hygiene. Three years into the development plan the SGD Synthesis Report 2018 on water and sanitation from July 2018 revealed that the environment is still an open sewer. The alarm bells are ringing loudly: the world is not on track to reach SGD No. 6 at this pace. We need to build more toilets, more sanitation systems, listen, and act to help change the situation. 4.5 billion people or 62% of the world population live without safely managed sanitation, 2.3 billion people lack basic sanitary services, and 892 million people practice open defecation. 90% of open defecation is practiced in rural areas in Central and Southern Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The human feces damage the environment, threaten public health and living conditions, impact nutrition and have ripple effects encompassing education, and economic productivity. Without clean water and access to adequate and equitable sanitation, it is challenging for the growing world population to be able to end open defecation. If we do continue at the current pace, 45% of the global gross domestic product, 52% of the population, and 40% of the global grain production will be at risk by 2050. On this World Toilet Day 2018, we take a closer look at how we can attain the 2030 UN SGD No. 6 goals. The clean water is direly needed for food security, health promotion, and poverty reduction. The Clarity water filter distribution to rural areas around the world is a tiny contribution to alleviate the hardship of accessing potable water. It is not enough, though, to ensure sustained economic growth in agriculture and industry, for more energy generation, and healthy ecosystems. It is imperative that the world joins hands in ending open defecation that has devasting effects on nature. The discharge enters the ecosystem without a filter, increases the risk of transmitting diseases, and pollutes the environments. Everyone needs to get access to a basic toilet and sanitation. Currently, only 68% of the world’s population has this luxury. The challenge that many governments and private institutions are also facing is the lack of adequate sewerage networks and onsite sanitation systems. Funding is lacking, delivery systems are weak, and we are not acting fast enough to achieve the set goals. When ‘Nature calls’ on World Toilet Day 2018, she is crying out for help as her ability to rehabilitate on her own is not sufficient. An active, engaged action plan is needed not only to achieve the UN SGD 6 but to save the planet from more pollution, destruction, and poop. Read more about activities to contribute to more sanitation and clean water: Thailand one school one bathroom, Run for Clarity.

]]>https://kohler.design/world-toilet-day-2018/feed/0Clarity Water Filter Donation 2017 to China, India, Morocco, and Cambodiahttps://kohler.design/water-filter-donation-clarity/
https://kohler.design/water-filter-donation-clarity/#respondFri, 16 Nov 2018 01:22:17 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=16128In 2017, the Kohler associates all over the globe collectively ran more than 60,000 kilometers during a three months period. That was 20,000 kilometers more than the original goal of 40,075 kilometers or the circumference [Read more…]

]]>In 2017, the Kohler associates all over the globe collectively ran more than 60,000 kilometers during a three months period. That was 20,000 kilometers more than the original goal of 40,075 kilometers or the circumference of the earth. Each participant achieved at least five kilometers by walking or running to have their distance counted towards the overall objective and the Clarity Water Filter Donation 2017. The Kohler Company management immediately sprang into action and ordered 5,000 Clarity Water filters to be shipped to different locations in the world. Namely, the Clarity Water Filter donation 2017 went to India, Cambodia, China, and Morocco. Earlier in the year, we reported on the donation in Siam Reap, Cambodia, where the Clarity Water filters were delivered to health care centers and schools. In the meantime, the filters have also reached the other destinations in India, China, and North Africa. The Clarity Water filters are an inexpensive, great way to help alleviate the hardship of fetching potable water for families, social workers, and others. In one day, the filter can purify up to 40 liters of rainwater or river water and provide a valuable resource. The children stay in kindergarten or school and have an opportunity to learn instead of having to walk long distances to a water well that often provides less than clean water. The families set up the filters directly in their homes where they can use them every day for a full year until the ceramic filter that filters the dirty water needs to be replaced. The Clarity Water filters are not only sustainable and handy, but they are also a beautiful design element and a great reminder of truly global collaboration. The first concept was conceived in India out of a need for clean drinking water, they were engineered in England, and are produced in the United States. The material used for the beautiful light blue lids is from recycled toilet seats. The total cost of the Clarity Water filters is reasonable to make them affordable in low-cost economies where they are most needed. The UN Sustainable Development Goal of creating a world where everyone has access to drinking water and potable water has not been reached by far. People around the world including our Kohler associates in many locations where we have factories and offices are contributing to the water filter donation challenge by raising awareness and funds to help alleviate the challenge of accessing clean water. Based on World Vision’s survey, the Clarity Water filters are an excellent way to help these families in need. All efforts will be intensified to further distribute and promote these low-cost, low-maintenance filters throughout the world. Currently, Kohler associates are walking and running in the second Run/Walk for Clarity that takes place from June to November 2018. The teams pledged to achieve a total 80,150 kilometers by the end of the set period and the management will thereafter donate Clarity Water filters that can help up to 80,000 people in rural areas to receive safe drinking water.

]]>https://kohler.design/water-filter-donation-clarity/feed/0Sustainable Greenbuild Conference in Chicagohttps://kohler.design/greenbuild-2018/
https://kohler.design/greenbuild-2018/#respondThu, 15 Nov 2018 01:06:56 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=16432The mega-conference Greenbuild is held at McCormick Place (West Hall) in Chicago, USA, in 2018. From 14 to 16 November 2018, more than 18,000 attendees will converge to the Greenbuild Conference and Expo to learn [Read more…]

]]>The mega-conference Greenbuild is held at McCormick Place (West Hall) in Chicago, USA, in 2018. From 14 to 16 November 2018, more than 18,000 attendees will converge to the Greenbuild Conference and Expo to learn the latest on green building, sustainability, and humanity. With two famous female plenary session speakers, a huge attendance is guaranteed. Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer and professional from the UK and UK government listed expert on international law will raise the awareness of refugees in the world and talk about her experience and learning from the Clooney Foundation. Amal co-founded the foundation with her husband and one of the first projects focused on the education of refugee children in Lebanon. The project was showcased at the 2016 United Nations Summit on the refugee crisis. After the opening conference, trade show attendees will learn the latest trends and techniques in the built environment, sustainability, and net-zero initiatives. They can act as environmental stewards during their time in Chicago, use public transportation or bicycles as much as possible or staying at a Green Certified hotel, reuse their water bottles and coffee mugs while at the conference, and dispose their waste materials by recycling and composting them at the convention center. The U.S. Green Building Council sponsored event strongly focuses on water. Chicago with its extensive waterways, riverwalks, and lakefront is a great place to raise the awareness and the importance of water. The closing keynote plenary session by Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of San Juan in Puerto Rico will highlight the drinking water once again. After hurricane Maria in 2017, the country is still struggling with power outages, providing suitable housing for people affected by the disaster, and clean drinking water. We have organized Clarity Water filter donations in Puerto Rico through our NGO-partner Operation Blessing International but it is not enough. Carmen Cruz is lobbying in Congress to get more support for the restoration of the power grid and improving the infrastructure in the country. We have been a platinum sponsor at Greenbuild for 11 consecutive years. The event is a great platform for further education in the field. The host city Chicago provides city tours highlighting green buildings from historic sites to sustainable home models. A large number of workshops and summits offer green building professionals, architects, interior designers, building owners, and operators and the general public variety in continued education. They focus mostly on sustainability issues in the built environment. It’s a conference that we recommend not to miss if you are in the Midwest or coming through Chicago. The next Greenbuild Conference and Expo in 2019 will take place in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, next November.

]]>https://kohler.design/greenbuild-2018/feed/0Run for Clarity Bangalore competing with Pod Taxishttps://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-bangalore/
https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-bangalore/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 01:06:44 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=16239Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in India with lots of smart people in it. Titled the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, the city was the perfect backdrop for the Run for Clarity Bangalore [Read more…]

]]>Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in India with lots of smart people in it. Titled the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, the city was the perfect backdrop for the Run for Clarity Bangalore on 28 October 2018. 35 associates, families and friends took to Bangaluru’s streets as the city is called locally. Although they would probably have preferred to take the Pod Taxis as traffic is, as in all Indian cities, quite dense. However, the project of the Pod Taxis is not quite off the ground yet. The new public transportation option will probably be built as a public-private partnership and will be an additional attraction point in Karnataka’s capital. The pods will only go for short distances of four to seven kilometers but could be a great relief for traffic jams if the 21,000 pods that are planned are all in circulation. The distance that the futuristic pods will travel would have easily covered the five kilometers that each of the runners or walkers in the Run for Clarity Bangalore mastered. The runners who used the less busy streets in the city helped raise awareness for clean water around the world. Many rural areas, especially in India, are lacking easy access to drinking water and the inhabitants must walk long distances to fetch water from wells or reservoirs. Often the water that they get for their families and the community is in no condition to be drunk and results in many illnesses. Often children cannot go to school or adults are too sick to work. The Run for Clarity Bangalore with all the fun-loving and enthusiastic associates who contributed valuable kilometers to the grand total of 80,150 kilometers of the Run for Clarity 2018 has brought everyone closer to the goal and our important mission to facilitate access to potable water. The Clarity water filters that will be distributed upon reaching the set goal at the end of November will alleviate the hardship of so many families who currently struggle to get clean water. Their lives will probably be even more changed and improved with this easy-to-use water filtration system. In any case, whether Taxi Pods or charity runs, Bangalore is a place on the map to watch for innovative activities and projects.

]]>https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-bangalore/feed/0First Morocco Kohler Clarity water filter donationhttps://kohler.design/morocco-kohler-clarity/
https://kohler.design/morocco-kohler-clarity/#respondThu, 01 Nov 2018 01:11:17 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=16190Benefiting from the 2017 global Run for Clarity and the ensuing Clarity water filter donation, the Jacob Delafon team in Tangier organized the first Morocco Kohler Clarity water filter donation in the small village of Hjar [Read more…]

]]>Benefiting from the 2017 global Run for Clarity and the ensuing Clarity water filter donation, the Jacob Delafon team in Tangier organized the first Morocco Kohler Clarity water filter donation in the small village of Hjar Nhal in July 2018. The total of 5,000 filters was divided up and sent to different rural areas in the world where access to clean drinking water is a challenge or still impossible. A shipment arrived in Morocco. The village of Hjar Nhal is about 25 kilometers south of Tangier and on the way to Tetouan. It is on the outskirts of the industrial zones of the big city on an isolated peninsula between the Tahdart River Delta and lake Tahdart. While corporations have been operating manufacturing plants for auto parts, textiles, and food production for many years and the area developed progressively with infrastructure and economically, there are still a lot of rural areas in the country. In these parts, for example, Hjar Nhal where the farmers grow sage, it is still difficult to access clean drinking water. On vacation, it might be fun to carry your water bottle on your hike or while riding on the back of a camel or donkey through the drylands, but if it is your daily chore to fetch the necessary water for your family, it loses its fascination. The struggle of these families to provide water for their households and loved ones is a challenge that the community faces daily. The Jacob Delafon team from Tangier brought 30 Clarity water filters to the village to alleviate some of the hardship and help work towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 of having clean water and sanitation anywhere in the world. The easy-to-use water filters produce up to 40 liters of potable water per day. Users only need to fill the top part of the filter with rainwater, river or well water and it filters through the ceramic core in the center to the lower container. The result is 99% protozoa-free water that is ready and healthy for consumption. The team’s effort with the Morocco Kohler Clarity water filter donation was very well received and acknowledged by the villagers who turned up in traditional clothes to honor the visitors with great gifts.

]]>https://kohler.design/morocco-kohler-clarity/feed/0Run for Clarity Bangkok 2018https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-bangkok/
https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-bangkok/#respondFri, 26 Oct 2018 01:10:54 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=16055A recent study and video showed that Bangkok, Thailand, has fewer green spaces for its inhabitants compared to other mega-cities in the world. However, on 7 October 2018 when the Bangkok associates, their families, and [Read more…]

]]>A recent study and video showed that Bangkok, Thailand, has fewer green spaces for its inhabitants compared to other mega-cities in the world. However, on 7 October 2018 when the Bangkok associates, their families, and friends gathered for the Run for Clarity Bangkok at the Forrest Benchakitti Park Phase I that is almost in downtown Bangkok, one had a hard time to believe it. Surrounded by lush vegetation, trees, and green spaces, the 300 participants of the 2018 Run for Clarity Bangkok started their early Sunday morning with fun warm-up activities, lots of photo opportunities, and some cooler temperatures (than later in the day). The Run for Clarity brought them all out to the park to help raise awareness of the lack of clean drinking water in rural areas around the world. Families, including kids, in these communities, must walk an average of five kilometers per day to fetch water for their loved ones. The water is often not clean and dangerous to the health of the consumers. The long way to get it is frequently also the reason that children are unable to go to school, family members become ill and cannot attend to other work. In its second year, the Run for Clarity is a charity run of the Kohler Company taking place from June to end of October 2018 to accumulate a total of 80,125 kilometers or the double of the circumference of the earth. Once this distance is achieved, the company pledged to donate Clarity Water filters to disadvantaged families in several countries around the world to help alleviate the hardship of accessing clean drinking. The easy-to-use Clarity Water filters provide up to 40 liters of purified, potable water for households, schools, and health care centers. They help the impoverished population to lessen their burden of searching for drinking water and giving them dignity by providing enough water to wash themselves and their clothes. As the Clarity Water filters do not require any electricity, they are simple to set up in any surrounding and can be put to work immediately. The team in Bangkok ran more than 1,500 kilometers and added a valuable mileage to the overall distance. Their contribution is a step closer to achieving the set goal. Apart from that, the Sunday morning activity in the City of Angels was also fun and a great way to connect with co-workers in a leisurely setting.

The Benchakitti Park Phase I is a beautiful area to enjoy a run, walk, and relaxing activities with family, friends, and colleagues.

]]>https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-bangkok/feed/0Run for Clarity China accumulates valuable kilometershttps://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-china/
https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-china/#respondFri, 12 Oct 2018 01:09:09 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=15708September was a busy month for our stewardship activity Run for Clarity. Associate teams all over China were running and walking various distances to contribute kilometers in the Run for Clarity China to the overall [Read more…]

September was a busy month for our stewardship activity Run for Clarity. Associate teams all over China were running and walking various distances to contribute kilometers in the Run for Clarity China to the overall goal of the 2018 Run for Clarity objective of reaching 80,150 kilometers. Recently, colleagues from Changshu, Shanghai, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Beijing, and Foshan have added to the record. With the run and their activities, they raise the awareness of lack of clean drinking water in rural areas in China and around the world. In the north, associates participated in the Run for Clarity that they organized in the Minyun Olympic Park northeast of Beijing. 65 persons ran a total of 325 kilometers while taking in the sights of the former Olympic park. In the Yangtze River Delta, 172 runners and walkers were accumulating 860 kilometers around Kuncheng Lake in Changshu, a city about one and a half hours north of Shanghai, near Suzhou. Another Shanghai team went northeast of the city to the Baoshan Industrial Park where sea, water, and railways connect and about 30% of this special zone is greenery that makes running a pleasant pastime. 90 participants added 450 kilometers and had a fun time. Further south near Hong Kong and Macau, associates gathered in Zhongshan, Zhuhai, and Foshan for the Run for Clarity China. They didn’t tackle the newly opened Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau bridge but put an impressive number of kilometers on the pavement and towards the overall goal. In Zhongshan alone, more than 240 people ran and walked over 1,200 kilometers at Xiao Lang Huan Park early in the morning. The park is adjacent to the Foraminifera Sculpture Park where runners also had a chance to gaze at oversized fossil sea creatures. While these team ran in urban parks and areas, they did an excellent job of raising awareness of lack of clean drinking water in many rural areas and the challenge for many families who must walk long distances to find potable water for their households. Once the 80,150 kilometers are achieved at the end of October, Kohler Company will donate Clarity Water filters that will be sent to these remote areas to help alleviate the hardship of collecting clean water for everyday use.

]]>https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-china/feed/0Run for Clarity Zibo and other celebrationshttps://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-zibo/
https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-zibo/#respondSun, 07 Oct 2018 03:00:04 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=15689Our team in Zibo, China, has just finished an important contribution of kilometers for the Run for Clarity 2018. The Run for Clarity Zibo with more than 320 associates running on two dates in August [Read more…]

Our team in Zibo, China, has just finished an important contribution of kilometers for the Run for Clarity 2018. The Run for Clarity Zibo with more than 320 associates running on two dates in August and September added much-needed kilometers to the overall goal of achieving 80,150 kilometers by the end of October. The associates of the vitreous plant in Zibo, an important ceramic manufacturing hub in Eastern China, has a lot more to celebrate. At the beginning of the year, the plant was awarded the Sam Davis Award for ‘Best Plant 2017’ and the Frank Williams Award for ‘Most improved plant 2017’. These two awards were only given one other time to one single factory at the same time in the 13 years of their existence. The plant met several outstanding criteria to be selected among them was ‘Zero is Possible’ – the pledge, commitment, and achievement of being accident-free. The same diligence and attention to detail were given to the recent Run for Clarity Zibo. The runners and walkers forewent the comfort of their homes or a visit to the probable world’s largest China ceramics museum in the city to participate in the charity run. It was no easy feat because Zibo is surrounded by gentle hills and completing the attempted kilometers meant to run a few times up and a few times down the streets and paths. The resilient associates could not be stopped to help raise the awareness of accessing clean drinking water in rural areas of the world. With their contribution, Kohler Company is a step closer to achieving the ambitious objective set and the promise to donate Clarity Water filters to families in need in China and other places in the world. 2018 is another milestone in the factory’s history as the plant just turned ten. Management and associates celebrated the anniversary with an open house in May. While they acknowledged their success at the plant, the solidarity also extended to people in need of support. The large turn-out of runners who tackled the Run for Clarity distance is an attest to that.

]]>https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-zibo/feed/0Run for Clarity Saraburi – leaving footprints for clean waterhttps://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-saraburi/
https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-saraburi/#commentsSat, 29 Sep 2018 01:00:58 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=15550At the Wat Phra Phutthabat in Saraburi, Thailand, it is believed that Buddha was leaving a footprint when he was coming through the village. The temple that was first built in 1624 shows a beautifully encased [Read more…]

At the Wat Phra Phutthabat in Saraburi, Thailand, it is believed that Buddha was leaving a footprint when he was coming through the village. The temple that was first built in 1624 shows a beautifully encased indentation of the footprint. Similarly, our associates and their families and friends had the intention leaving a symbolic footprint when they gathered on 9 September 2018 for the Run for Clarity Saraburi 2018. More than 600 persons walked and ran a distance of six kilometers each to raise awareness of clean drinking water in rural areas in Thailand and elsewhere. The total of 3,690 kilometers ran will be added to the grand total from all kilometers ran around the world. The Kohler associates are doing their best to accumulate 80, 150 kilometers or the double circumference of the Earth as a tribute to people who don’t have easy access to drinking water and must walk long distances to fetch it. Once the overall goal is achieved, Kohler Company will donate Clarity Water filters that are simple and don’t even require electricity to some of these rural areas to help alleviate the hardship. This stewardship activity was a great opportunity to bring the teams together and share the walk and run and some fun times afterward. In Saraburi, the participants were also generous and donated money to the Kaeng Khoi Hospital in the city of Saraburi. With factories in the provincial city that is a mere 100 kilometers from Bangkok, Kohler Company contributes to the daily life. Frequent stewardship activities such as the recent ‘One Bathroom, One school’ or donations to the Kaeng Koi Wildlife Sanctuary add to the close-knit community. The Clarity Water filters from the Run for Clarity 2018 will be able to help 40,000 people in disaster areas and rural areas around the world to access clean, drinking water. It is a focus of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to reduce the number of people who cannot get a glass of clean drinking water easily. Our associates the world over are more than happy to help achieve this mission.

]]>https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-saraburi/feed/2Run for Clarity Cheltenham – walk in the parkhttps://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-cheltenham/
https://kohler.design/run-for-clarity-cheltenham/#respondSat, 22 Sep 2018 01:00:28 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=15498The Kohler and Mira office and factory in Cheltenham, UK, rallied up associates for the Run for Clarity Cheltenham on 7 September 2018. 147 persons from all departments followed the call and participated in the charity [Read more…]

The Kohler and Mira office and factory in Cheltenham, UK, rallied up associates for the Run for Clarity Cheltenham on 7 September 2018. 147 persons from all departments followed the call and participated in the charity run and walk to raise awareness of the lack of drinking water in many rural areas around the world. Those who were not able to join the group at the Pittville Park on that day ran their five kilometers or more in their respective homes and locations. Cheltenham known for its cultural renaissance and Victorian architecture is the gateway to the Cotswold, an 800-square mile area comprising of five counties. A mere two hours away from London, Cheltenham and its residential suburb Pittville is a picturesque location for a walk or a run. The former private estate of Pittville was built in 1824. The Pittville Pump was designed by the local architect John Forbes. The 33-hectare parkland with ornamental lakes and bridges from the mid-19th century was first created an exclusive spa. And during the Run for Clarity Cheltenham, some of our associates may have felt that they were enjoying a spa treatment in the fresh, clean air of the park. The vast natural beauty reminded all participants how fortunate they are and how important it is to support people in other parts of the world where clean, drinking water is not a given. Some of the families must walk an average of five kilometers to access water wells or holes and often the water is not very clean. The contribution of the Cheltenham team of a significant number of kilometers will bring us closer to the overall goal of running and walking more than 80,150 kilometers during the Run for Clarity until the end of October 2018. Once achieved Kohler Company will collaborate with non-profit organizations to bring Clarity Water filters to the communities who need the clean drinking water the most. With this charity activity, more than 40,000 people will benefit from clean water. The Cheltenham team joined Kohler in 2001. The team produces and markets sanitary wares under the brands Kohler UK, Mira, and Rada.